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Abstract
Celeration (speed change) behaviour of drivers has been posited to be the best predictor of their traffic accident involvement. The origins of this behaviour, however, have not been specified. A model is therefore introduced, where celeration is partly due to the individual disposition of the driver (i.e., driving style), and partly to the environment (road layout, rules and traffic density). Three measurement problems for celeration were studied; the effect of traffic density, of regular versus irregular routes, and weight of the vehicle (loaded/unloaded) on celeration behaviour. Two small samples of truck drivers in Sweden were measured for several months each. There was a strong effect of vehicle load, with behaviour being more cautious with increased weight. Driving on different roads also yielded differences in behaviour, although the design used did not permit conclusions about what caused these. Traffic volume was not found to have any reliable effect on celeration.
Acknowledgements
Traffic count data for Stockholm was supplied by Per Karlsson, City of Stockholm, Traffic Administration, which is gratefully acknowledged. Also, two anonymous reviewers supplied feedback which improved the readability of the paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Funding
This research was financed by Skogforsk (Swedish Forestry Research Institute), as part of an evaluation of traffic safety of large (30 m, 90 t) trucks.